The Senior Analyst Jan. 2014 | Page 4

THE SENIOR ANALYST since they are in digital form, they can be transferred almost anywhere in the world easily. In essence, Bitcoins are a mutual agreement between its users to be used to trade with, just like any other conventional currency. Its form is very difficult to manipulate and, here is where the magic happens, its not owned by any one person in particular. Viva La Democracy, right? But why is there a need for a separate form of currency, when all the payments and exchanges can be made easily with the regulated form of money? One strong motivation could be the fact that Bitcoins are given value to it by the community which uses it. In effect, it ceases to require any backing or support from an authority to function and succeed. So with a Bitcoin, you have a technology that works like cash, albeit, where transactions cannot be reversed at will, where transactions happen only by the use of a secure pin that you have access to, AND there are no middlemen. Only the buyer and seller are there. Win-Win game no? If only the world was as simple. Even if Bitcoins may not be a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme (where people invest in a place